Personal log (addendum)
...Tactical analysis and data...
...The Borg...no one really knows where they originated...
...in a basic sense, The Borg manifest as cybernetically-enhanced humanoid drones of multiple species, organized as an interconnected collective, the decisions of which are made by a hive mind, linked by subspace radio frequencies. The Borg inhabit a vast region of space in the Delta Quadrant of the galaxy, possessing (suspected) millions of vessels. They operate solely toward the fulfilling of one purpose: to "add the biological and technological distinctiveness of other species to [their] own" in pursuit of "perfection." Analysis has shown that the concept of perfection is the unifying idea at the core of the Borg. The pursuit of an unemotional, mechanical perfection is the Borg's only motivation. This is achieved through forced assimilation, a process which takes individuals and technology, enhancing and controlling them...
...Though Borg rarely look alike, they share several common characteristics. Borg commonly have one eye (most often the left eye) replaced with a sophisticated ocular implant which allows them to see beyond the human visual spectrum. This implant usually projects a red laser beam, particularly in later appearances. They also usually have one arm replaced with a multi-purpose tool and flat white skin, giving them an almost zombie-like appearance. This skin was originally dry and human-looking, but it later had a more "slick" look to it, with veins showing.
Owing to their cybernetic enhancements, all Borg are far stronger than humans to varying degrees (depending on the species the drone came from). However, they never run to their destination, and hence most species can outpace them. Borg drones are resistant to phaser fire, being completely immune to the stun setting. In addition, all Borg drones possess personal shielding which collectively adapts to phaser fire, phasers tend to become ineffective after a dozen shots at most, depending on the settings and time between shots. Phaser frequencies can be altered to penetrate the shield, but the Borg adapt more quickly with each modulation. Due to this, crews have been known to employ a variety of other countermeasures such as holodeck-generated bullets (holodeck items are solid as long as the holodeck safety settings are disabled) and melee weapons. The Borg hive mind can lead to certain downsides: Borg drones have a weakness in that they will usually ignore anything which does not present itself as a direct threat (unless specifically directed to attack), allowing armed but passive Enterprise crew to walk among them relatively unscathed until threatening behavior was observed.
The most important cybernetic component of any Borg is their "cortical node", which controls every other implanted "fixed location" cybernetic device within a Borg's body, and is most often implanted in the forehead above the usually-retained organic right eye. If the cortical node fails, the afflicted individual Borg eventually dies, as it cannot be replicated or repaired. However, we believe successful replacement of the node can be carried out on a Borg vessel if the failure is detected promptly before the afflicted Borg's impending death...
...Assimilation is the process by which the Borg integrate beings and cultures into their collective. "You will be assimilated" is one of the phrases employed by the Borg when communicating with other species. The Borg are considered as having encountered and assimilated thousands of species and billions to trillions of individual life-forms throughout the galaxy. The Borg designate each species with a number assigned to them upon first contact...
...When first encountered, the Borg are said to be more interested in assimilating technology than people, roaming the universe as single-minded marauders that have assimilated starships, planets, and entire societies in order to collect new technology. They are discriminating in this area, finding certain races, for example the Kazon, to be technologically inferior and not worthy of assimilation. A Borg infant found aboard the first cube introduced shows that the Borg will even assimilate the children of a conquered race...
...in a later encounter they captured and assimilated Captain Jean-Luc Picard into the collective by surgically altering him, creating Locutus of Borg, meaning "he who has spoken", in Latin, fitting as he speaks to Federation humans for them. After this, life-form assimilation becomes much more prominent in their overall behavior...
...The method of assimilating individual life-forms into the collective has been represented differently over time, only consistent in that infant and fetal humanoids have been grown in an accelerated state and surgically receive implants connected directly into the brain, as well as ocular devices, tool-enhanced limbs, armor, and other prosthetics. In most cases the method of adult assimilation is depicted with the more efficient injection of nanoprobes-(nanites)-into the individual's bloodstream through a pair of tubules that spring forth from the drone's hand. Assimilation by nanoprobe is witnessed as being a fast-acting process, with the victim's skin pigmentation turning gray with visible dark tracks forming within moments of contact. The individual is then taken away for complete assimilation by drones; the individual has all traces of individuality removed and implants are attached to the new drone so it can become an integrated part of the collective. This method of assimilation is also shown to be much more surgical in nature; the Borg essentially overlay the body with cybernetics, while in other cases, a captured crew member is known to have a forearm and an eye physically removed and replaced with cybernetic implants...
...Because assimilation depends on nanoprobes, species with an extremely advanced immune system are able to resist assimilation. Thus far, Species 8472 are the only race shown to be capable of rejecting assimilation attempts...
...Nanoprobes are microscopic machines that inhabit a Borg's body, bloodstream, and many cybernetic implants. The probes perform the function of maintaining the Borg cybernetic systems, as well as repairing damage to the organic parts of a Borg. They generate new technology inside a Borg when needed as well as protecting them from many forms of disease and virus. Borg nanoprobes, each about the size of a human red blood cell, travel through the victim's bloodstream and latch on to individual cells. The nanoprobes rewrite the cellular DNA, altering the victim's biochemistry, and eventually form larger, more complicated structures and networks within the body such as electrical pathways, processing and data storage nodes, and ultimately prosthetic devices that spring forth from the skin. In a post mission interview Seven of Nine stated that the Borg assimilated the nanoprobe technology from "Species 149"...
...Though used by the Borg to exert control over another being, reprogrammed nanoprobes were used by the crew of the starship Voyager in many instances as medical aids. In one instance, the probes were used to revive crewman Neelix 18 hours, 49 minutes and 13 seconds after death by repairing his body, and are used to treat various visitors' ailments...
...The Borg will not try to immediately assimilate any being that it comes to contact with; in fact, Borg drones tend to completely ignore beings that are identified as too weak to be a threat and too inferior to be worth assimilating. Captain Picard and his team walked safely past a group of Borg drones because they are unarmed, while the drones fulfilled programmed missions...
personal note:
...Though I do not believe that any species "needs" to become extinct, I have no love loss for the Borg...not since they took D'Ambrath; my sister, when they attacked and assimilated the colony that she was a part of. It was either coincidence or cruel fate that by chance the USS Paramore was the first ship to respond to their distress call. To this day I can see the devastation that they left behind...I remember what she looked like when we found her...a drone...a mindless machine, all trace of what made her my sister erased and replaced with Borg technology and programming. All I could do was let her die like an Andorian at the very least...
...from that defining moment forward, I knew that I had to unravel them, understand them, learn how to fight them...be the one that stands in the gap when no one else will or can. Obsessed...maybe a bit, but one thing that I know beyond the shadow of doubt...where ever we meet, in space or on the surface of a planet...they are in for a fight unlike anything they have ever faced before. Every meeting will be an act of reckoning for the countless lives they've destroyed...every Borg I kill is an act of mercy for the soul that once inhabited the automaton drone...its not revenge...its justice.
-end log-
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